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Well lovely Ivy over at Kopiaste, who has a fabulous Greek/Cypriot Food Blog asked me to do the 5 Facts About Me meme. So I figured what the heck?! Could be fun! Then I thought, as always in true Jenn fashion, is there anything I can write about that would be beneficial for people to read, that is related to food â€“ being that this is a food blog. Well I am not one to do rants generally, as I always steer my blog to positive things, but there are some things in the Food World that have been pestering me for several weeks now and I feel I should share this information and perhaps spread the word about the food we eat and things that you might not know about.

But first, the fun ones, the 5 facts about me!

1)I believe that the most powerful force in the universe is Love
2)When I was younger I had blond, poker straight hair (must be all that Olive oil!)
3)I believe in Fairies!
4)I once lived as a Shepard on The Navajo Reservation
5)I worked in the Alternative/Holistic Health field for many years, and saw first hand, day after day how foods help and harm us. It is from this knowledge and my hope to pass it on that I share these next 5 facts.

Now for my 5 Food Facts:

1) The food industry is tricking us, AGAIN. I am sure you all have heard everywhere from doctors and magazine articles and books to The Oprah show, about the evils of trans fats and hydrogenated oils. The spreading of this information happened like wildfire and now most everyone knows to read their food labels and not purchase food items that contain trans fats or hydrogenated oils. Well that is all well and good, HOWEVER they have now introduced Palm Oil and Palm Kernel Oil to many of these foods in place of the trans fats. So isn’t that good? Well, no. Palm Oil is loaded with saturated fat. The Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, World Health Organization, and other health authorities have urged reduced consumption of these oils.
Not only is is bad for us to eat, but it is bad for the environment. It is harvested from rain forests and is destroying many animals that live there, not to mention the indigenous communities of humans there as well. My question is, is it really worth it? I also ask, if this is common knowledge (a 30 second google search), why is it now showing up in foods that are promoted for heart health? Why is it in my beloved NUTELLA!? Why does there even need to BE oils in Nutella? Has any one ever heard of butter, you know, the thing made from cows that contains one ingredient: cream (And sometimes salt)?

I think it is appalling that the FDA allows this stuff to go into our foods masking the truth.
I don’t think I need to say why the FDA is allowing bad foods to go into many popular products that people buy that are supposed to be healthy. You do the math. To learn more, read this article.

2) If you want to eat something sweet stick to sugar, it is better for you than the artificial stuff. There is aspartame (a PC word for saccharin) and its cousin splenda and then our friend High Fructose Corn Syrup. This is the same deal. People got hip to the fact that saccharin, aka Nutrasweet, kills rats and mice, by giving them cancer, so then the food companies brought us aspartame, which is the same thing, different name. (For those of you who are not aware of this, please go check out Sweet Misery (these chemical ingredients are in EVERYTHING labeled DIET. Throw that junk out. Seriously, if you are going to drink soda, go for the one with cane sugar. You can find these soft drinks at any health food store, Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods). When people realized this and stopped buying products with Nutrasweet and Aspartame, Splenda came into our lives. Splenda is NOT made from Sugar. It is a chemical called sucralose. Sugar is fed to a processing plant and the sugar molecules are chlorinated and then re-arranged. So I guess if you are alright with ingesting chlorine, go for it. But, if you want something sweet and safe, find products with cane sugar or if you are diabetic, use Stevia.Oh, and since I mentioned Corn Syrup it is in everything because it is cheaper to refine than sugar. That is all it is, a money thing. When you eat sugar a chemical is released to tell you that you are full, studies show that when ingesting corn syrup the fullness chemical is suppressed actually making you feel hungrier, yet. No wonder diabetes is on the rise.

So the moral is, eat natural things that are familiar to you, and stay away from processed foods or chemicals. If you cannot pronounce something, or have never seen an item on a food label before, even if it is natural, like palm oil, or corn syrup, research it before you buy the product. Thankfully because we are foodies, we make most of our stuff from scratch, so we know what goes in things like bread and pasta sauce, etc. So when you look at labels and see weird things that have no reason to be there in the first place, then it is time to put the product back on the shelf and walk away. Consumers RULE. If enough of us boycott something, the food companies have to change what they are doing, like the hydrogenated oils. But now they have proven that we need to keep on top of things and not assume that they are actually trying to do good by us. But we are smarter and now we are hip to their game!

Bring on the Olive oil!

3) Soy is good, but in moderation and not for all people. Soy is a good meat alternative, it is healthy and filling and you can get super creative with it in the kitchen. But it is important to look at some of the other facts. If you have increased rick for breast cancer, it can be a concern. Also, soy has been so genetically modified over the past 10 years, it is not the same stuff we used to have. Plus it is not a traditional food for people of European decent and although there have been lots of studies in Asia with regard to their traditional use of soy in their diet and breast cancer/ heart disease, etc many people of European decent have sensitivities to soy, myself included. I was a vegetarian for 10 years and a vegan for 2. I ate a lot of soy and did not know I had a sensitivity to it and made me tired all the time. It also makes my hands and feet swell. It took me years to relate it to my soy intake, because I know how good it can be for you!

Okay, so enough negatives, how about the positives. Here are a few foods that are very good for you and you should have in your diet.

1) Buffalo or Bison Meat
Buffalo can only survive on a diet of grass, unlike cows, they cannot be fed on a diet of corn. Grass fed meat is high in CLA which is another kind of good fat and is only available in products from grass fed animals. Studies are slowly proving that CLA might help fight cancer. A study in Finland showed that women who had a higher percentage of CLA in their diet had a 60% lower risk of breast cancer. It also has a tendency to reduce body fat. However if you take CLA as a supplement instead of directly from the meat or dairy products of these animals (including grass fed beef), it contains isomers which over time may not be healthy. So just eat the foods!

2) Pomegranates
Pomegranates have long been used as aphrodisiacs. However, studies are finding that they also are extremely healthy and contain more antioxidants than blueberries. Studies in Israel are also showing that it could have important implications for breast cancer treatment and estrogen replacement therapies. They say that pomegranate juice is toxic to most estrogen-dependent breast cancer cells while leaving normal breast cells, unaffected. To learn about the study, click here.

So there you have it – 5 facts about me and 5 facts about food you might not know about.

This was not intended to shove my thoughts down people’s throats. It is just meant to be a thought provoking article to inspire you all to go out and check this information out for yourself. Be educated. I just saw too many people’s health destroyed by these “innocent” things that many people take for granted as not being that big of a deal.

Wow…so much information in one post Jenn. I have always been of the butter consuming philosophy. I like things the way that nature intended them. I like buffalo meat as well, but it is much harder to find here. It makes an esxellent burger

Excellent post. I agree with all of it. I mentioned this yesterday to you, but but will repeat it here for others.

Thanx for the compliment on more natural food. I truly believe that is what is wrong with America. It is this fast food/processed food mentality.
More people focus on the meat and potatoes than on the vegis and fruit.

People need to exercise and care about their health. I still have a ways to go but I have lost 80 lbs in the last 2.5 years by really digging into and reading about health, nutrition, food and exercise. It really does make a difference. ~

I think it is rediculous all the garbage they pass off to us as food. I am glad that I had the time to look up all this stuff and make better choices for my family and myself. I cook from scratch most of the time and try to use as natural food as possible. They say you can’t buy good health, but you can buy good food.

Wow…we preach the same things!!! I believe in eating things that are closest to nature. Fewer hands touching it (and adding things) the better…think sugar, butter, olive oil. I have found that I even have to make all of my kids snacks because everything has HFCS in it and I refuse to let them eat it. I will even feed them cake and brownies over bought items! How many kids get cake for an after school snack???!!!

I didn’t know that about the buffalo though. I will now make a concentrated effort to use that in place of beef.

I love that you mentioned soy sensitivities. I can’t have soy, either. Whenever I warn people of my milk allergy, they always use soy-based products, instead (because I usually don’t think to tell them about my soy allergy, since I always use, like, rice milk.) People just don’t know about alternatives to the alternative! But, goodness- soy is in so much!

Also, that’s pretty kick ass that you lived like that (#4)! What an amazing opportunity! I envy you.

Jenn, first of all thanks for participating and giving us the chance to read this wonderful informative post about so many things in one post. This post I will read more than once because there are a lot of important things to learn and digest.
However, I would like to ask some additional information if you know about them.
First of all about aspartame, you are so right. For years I used to take it. Then we were informed about how it can create cancer and stopped it totally. Do you know anything about fructose? Is it safe and if yes, is better than sugar or does it have the same effect as sugar?
The other thing I wanted to ask you is about proactive ingredients. Milk, butter, etc. I cook using olive oil by 95% but I have stopped using milk butter for a few years now because of cholesterol and wherever a recipe says butter I use margarines with proactive and have substituted regular milk with proactive milk. Do you know anything about this?

Great post. I love Buffalomeat. I try vey hard to steer away from processed foods( my partner is another story, but he’s getting better). I have just discovered Stevia and its great. I have not completly kicked the Equal or Splenda habit, but I can enjoy food and drink with out it.

Nutella and peanut butter DON’T need any additional ingredients. Yet, I still find myself using them.

I’m convinced soda is evil, and sweeteners as well. I was using Splenda for awhile, but I gave it up. Not I just drink tea and sweet tea. There are entire websites dedicated to how evil Splenda is. Stevia is so damn expensive! Hopefully the price will come down.

I was a vegetarian for years, and ate a lot of soy products. Still do. I guess it makes sense that people would have a lot of allergies to it.

Wow! I am so glad I am getting such a positive response to this post. Thank you all for taking the time to read it and comment on it. I think it is really important for people to discuss these topics as at least in the US we are reaching an epidemic point with regard to obesity and diabetes and it doesn’t have to be that way!!!

Hey Valli! What about Caribou and Elk? Reindeer? They are also high in CLA. I am of the same philosophy – no chemicals for this body – I get enough just breathing, thank you very much.

Yes Jasmine, you called it out right – GARBAGE. I want to applaud you for losing all the weight and having such a healthy outlook on food!

Hi Peter – Well we are going to have to start getting Nutella from Italy. This obsession with palm oil and trans fats seems to be an Americas issue. For myself, I would say Nutella, in its current recipe is not healthy. They should jusy omit oil all together.

Yep, Judy! I am the same way – if I make it and I know all good stuff is in it, I will let us all have sweets, but I will not buy processed foods. They are garbage. Yes, Fairies rock!

Hey Ley! Another no can have soy person! WOW! I actually love almond milk. Did you ever try that? I don’t have a milk allergy so I use mainly that, but I still enjoy almond milk once in a while.
My experience on the Navajo Res was life changing.

Well Heather, you pretty much summed me up, although I was never really a Hippie, more like a generic tree-hugger.

Hey Ivy! Fructose is a natural sugar found in fruits and some veggies. It has a much lower glycemic index than regular sugar and therefore suitable for people with hypoglycemia or diabetes. With regards to Proactive, I am not sure what it is. I am not familiar with the product. For lowering cholesterol, I use non fat milk products as much as possible. I use olive oil exclusively for cooking but use butter in baking, which is usually only for DB challenges.

Wow Deborah! What a small world! I know where I lived there was a trading post about 25 miles away. It took us over an hour to get there due to the conditions of the roads. We did our laundry by hand! As for shopping I rarely saw a fruit or vegetable while I was there – those were special treats for rare occassions, unless it was something we grew. That was an experience!

Courtney! QUIT the splenda!
Glad you are using Stevia!

Thanks, Kat!

Thanks Superchef! Fairies are great!

Hi Emiline! I don’t have pictures of Fairies if that is what you mean, but yes, proof enough for me. But leprachauns are not real (sorry, I couldn’t resist – it is a line from a Buffy episode).
I know, a little Nutella habit is tough to break, but I may have to give it up if they don’t stop with this junk!Yes, Splenda is EVIL and I am so glad you don’t use it anymore! Stevia s expensive but you need sooo very very little it lasts AGES.

That was a fantastic post. I love the random facts about you and would love to learn more about your shepherding days! Your food facts are right on and need to reach everyone. It is so important to stick to natural things, and the products that our foremothers used…they knew. Brava! Good work my friend.

I totally agree with you about the sugar and oils and meat. It is so true. Just this holiday my dad and I had a discussion about this and your info about the grass fed cows versus the grain fed animals, makes so much sense.

I send you an email, so if you have time, please help, I am desperate for traffis to my blog…

Everything that is closer to nature is better for you, of course. We didn’t evolve for millions of years on processed food. But is sad that people now think that faster, easier, cheaper and crappy processed food is better for you. At least we have the power of information that allows us to make our own decisions when it comes to food.

Great article. I am stumbling, deliciousing digging and any other ing I can find

Thanks so much for sharing all this info with us! I do care about the things we eat, when I go to the fishmonger it must be fresh and wild, when to the market same thing, when I go to the supermarket I always read the labels, no matter the time it takes me.
Do you know that E-330 has been forbiden in Europe for I don’t know how many years, and here in Spain I still find dairy products that use that component? Not to mention all candies kids buy… that is even worse! I don’t know which controls they pass… but my daughter is not having any!!!

My sister in Law, Tatiana, also believes in fairies and elfs, she is as adorable as you!

Hi Peter, I have never actually ventured into making my own Nutella! What a great idea, I shall look into it! Thank you.

Hi Ley! it is not horchata. It is actually called Almond Milk. I usually get the Pacific one – it is usually in the same section as Rice milk.

Zingerman’s huh? Thanks for the tip Jen. I willcheck it out – but the way Roberto eats it, we can’t be getting the super expensive stuff! And yes, grass fed beef is good for CLA as well. So I would say go for that. I usually tout buffalo though because it is a leaner meat.

Thanks so much Jeni! I feel the same way. Sometimes I thinkI must be an old soul – There are a lot of things about the modern world that cause me quite a lot of concern. But that I suppose is for another day to rant about! Quite honestly my sheparding days were really life changing. I learned more about my self in those 6 months than a lifetime. Something about being that close to nature, not having modern necessities (electricity, running water, etc) being the outsider, not speaking the language, etc, helped me know myself. Feel free to ask anything about it. I love to talk about those days.

Hi Nina! I sent you an email back! I think it is great that you talk with your family about this stuff. It is a great thing to discuss!

Thank you so much Ben. I agree completely with what you say about not evolving on prcessed foods! How true!

So Nuria, what is E-330? I am not sure I know about it. I am like you, I always read every label of everything I buy – I have to put back about 90% how crazy is THAT?! It really upsets me when they put this stuff into foods for kids. I mean how can these people sleep at night! It is like having blood on your hands as far as I am concerned!
Your sister in law sounds awesome! Thanks!

Why do you believe in fairies? Do tell. I’m not often hearing such a declaration from another adult.

Regarding your food facts:

I was in the supermarket this evening and looked at the ingredient list on a jar of Nutella. I was surprised to see that “hydrogenated oil” had been replaced by “modified palm oil.” Shame on the (American) makers of Nutella! Really, they must believe that most people will not recognize palm oil for what it is. In his book “Spontaneous Healing,” Andrew Weil draws a distinction between palm fruit oil and palm kernel oil. From a health standpoint, he writes, the former is significantly less unhealthy than the latter–but, indeed, both should be avoided. He doesn’t mention the socioeconomic and environmental aspects, however; thank you bringing them up.

I wonder why so many vegetarians rely so heavily on soy. There are so many other great non-animal sources of protein available–just among the legumes, to begin with. These days, I get most of my protein from lentils, dulse (and other seaweeds), yoghurt (and other cultured dairy products), and whole grains (such as quinoa, which is technically a pseudocereal). Aside from being genetically-modified (as you pointed out), soy should also be eaten sparingly because (like the other major GMO crop, corn) its production is taking an enormous toll on the planet. Mainly, soy and corn are also grown to feed many of the cattle, chickens, and other creatures destined for human consumption. Barbara Kingsolver writes about this in her latest book, “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle”–and she’s not the first to point out that this type of agriculture is certainly not “sustainable” in the long term. The supercrops are destroying the ecological diversity of this planet!

I agree that sugar is preferable to all artificial sweeteners. Surprisingly, the last few times I’ve been in Europe, all of the major-brand yoghurt I came across (Dannon, mostly) was nonfat and sweetened with aspartame. That was a shock. Aspartame rarely appears in yoghurt in the U.S.

Olive oil seems to be the best fat for the human diet, but lately, as a committed locavore, I’ve been wondering if there’s an equally healthy oil that can be produced a little closer to home. Olive trees don’t grow in New England, after all. Butter is really not a healthy alternative. Rapeseed, the plant from which canola oil comes, can be grown in this part of the world–Canada is one of its biggest producers–but I’ve recently read that it is a crop sprayed with a lot of pesticides. So what does that leave? Safflower and pumpkin seed oil? Nut oils are prohibitively expensive and don’t have a high “flash” point, alas.

I agree with what you have written about buffalo/bison meat–though it doesn’t mean much to those of us abstaining from the flesh of four-legged creatures.

As for the pomegranate, I’m sure it’s got plenty of beneficial properties, but I would caution against regularly drinking the juice of it or any of the other so-called (and now very popular) superfruits–that is, too much of a good thing is NOT a good thing. Juice (from any fruit, really) is too concentrated: a single glass of it contains the equivalent of three or more pieces of fruit–an immoderate amount to consume in one go, I think. It’s always better to just eat a piece of fruit, and I daresay the pomegranate’s healthful properties are probably most present in the fresh, unprocessed fruit.

Great post Jenn,I did notice that on the back of my jar of Nutella, so sad!! And I have to admit, I got sucked in by thinking Splenda was a good thing, It had to be better than white sugar!( I thought)I would substitute it in a lot of things, thiking I was doing a good thing….WRONG!

Well Lilian, the simple answer is why does anyone believe in anything? The long answer is the universe is made up of energy bodies – everything has energy -what is to sat that energy can’t be seen as fairies?
Thanks for your other comments. I appreciate your information on Soy and Supercrops. That is right on the money. With regard to aspartame in yogurt in the USA, there are TONS of yogurts in the US with aspartame, which is why I avoid the ones that say fat-free & sugar-free – they are usually the ones with it in there. So please read your lables! Do not assume there are any “safe” products without reading labels first. I also love your point about the oils – I agree local foods are better then ones not native to your area. Great points! I also agree with eating the fruit – but with particular regard to pomegranates, that is sometimes a struggle – they are messy and for many people inconvenient – so I would say go ahead and drink the juice rather than do nothing at all.

Thanks Marie! I know, I am heartbroken over the Nutella! I don’t blame you for getting sucked in by Splenda. Lots of people do because they are trying to be healthy and the TV and Magazine ads all say that Splenda aids in this! That os what is so evil about it! Hope you have since quit the “yellow stuff”.

When the cholesterol thing first came on the scene, Palm Oil and Palm Kernel Oil were some of the first oils we were told not to use. I find it totally unreal that they are putting them back on the shelves! It’s like somebody doesn’t read or learn from the past.
Interesting about the soy.
Great post Jenn, Thanks.

Hola Jenn,
First of all tell you that I might have talked without having latest news on that subject. Ok, the E-330 is an acid citric/antioxidant used to preserve food to get bad.
Since years ago, I heard that it was forbidden in the UE but we still used it. So I didn’t buy anything that would carry that. It was said it was cancerous.
But now that you didn’t know about it I check it again and it seems that it’s ok, no problem for our health.
However, depending on the country you live in Europe, rules might be different; for example in nordic countries all synthesis ones are forbidden.
So, I will just leave it to common sense! What do you think?
During the 70’s at Hospital Villejuif in Paris you could see a list of all kinds of food additives. The list contained lots of these products and warned you about how bad they could be for your health (most of them cancerous). That’s where all comes from. I’m sorry if I scared you with this.

Sorry, aspartame is not the same as saccharin. Each are bad in their own way, but aspartame makes me very, very ill, so I’m very aware of the difference. In the US most “light” yogurt and most diet soda have aspartame.

This is a brilliant post. Thank you for getting the synapses firing in my brain. : )

For some reason, especially in Souther California, our natural foods are more expensive than our processed foods, especially since water supplies are being throttled up in our agricultural regions. At the grocery store, it can cost you more than two dollars for a head of lettuce. Eating healthy is very difficult on a budget (especially when it’s out of necessity, as we’ve all gone low-carb to support my diabetic father and the economy crashed). I think the nearest source of buffalo is a good 500 miles away, but I will definitely investigate it and other meats further. And we have given up finding sweetener replacements after I realized that my tummy does not care for Stevia *at all*. All hail the sugar cane! We just eat much less of the sweeter things than we used to. No one feels deprived, we just have one cookie instead of the irresistible five (especially when they are fresh from the oven).

I envy your experiences out on the Navajo Reservation. As an inner-city kid, I would love to spend a day wandering uninhabited land, breathing all that wonderful clean air.

Best to you and yours,

Luney

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Thank you so much for all your comments. I enjoy reading each and every single one of them. Please keep them coming because I do appreciate the feedback and I apologize that I can't respond to everyone individially. See you in the blogosphere!